Astrology in court: The Spanish Inquisition, authority, and expertise.

Autor/in	Lanuza-Navarro, Tayra M. C
Titel	Astrology in court: The Spanish Inquisition, authority, and expertise.
Quelle	In: History of science, (2017) 2, S.187-209 PDF als Volltext (1); PDF als Volltext (2); PDF als Volltext (3) Verfügbarkeit
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0073-2753
DOI	10.1177/0073275317710537
Schlagwörter	Social behavior; Astrology; Studies; Debates; Inquisition; Books
Abstract	Astrology, its legitimacy, and the limits of its acceptable practice were debated in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe. Many of the related arguments were mediated by the work of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and the responses to it. Acknowledging the complexities of the relationship between astrological ideas and Christian teachings, this paper focuses on the Catholic debates by specifically considering the decisions about astrology taken by the Spanish Inquisition. The trials of astrologers are examined with the aim of understanding the role of experts in astrology in early modern Spain. This study brings into view the specific nature of the debate on astrology in Spain, the consequences of the actions of the Inquisition and the social control it exerted. The historical events discussed comprise a particular case and also mirror the general debates about astrology taking place in early modern Europe. The experts’ opinions expressed in trials and in reports about the discipline received by the Inquisition reveal two key traits of the debate: the dispute about who had the authority to decide on the legitimacy of astrology and the disagreement about what constituted natural and judicial astrological practices. These led to different opinions about what was to be done with each defendant and about what content in their books ought to be forbidden.
Erfasst von	OLC
Update	2023/3/07